Turkish delegation begins US meeting on ties

Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal is heading a nine-person delegation for the meeting in which American pastor Andrew Brunson, who is under house arrest in Turkey, and U.S. sanctions on Turkish ministers are expected to be focal topics.

Turkey and the U.S. are currently experiencing rocky relations following the imposition of American sanctions on Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu and Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul for not releasing Brunson, who faces terrorism charges in Turkey.

The two NATO allies have been at odds since a defeated coup in Turkey in 2016 in which Ankara accused the U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen and his FETO organization of masterminding.